The Battle of Culloden

You've probably heard about the Jacobites and the Young Pretender, but have you ever wondered about the battle that ended Bonny Prince Charlie's hopes of a throne? It's a tragic tale of hope and loss, the last military clash ever to be fought on British soil, and the outcome had a massive impact on British history.

To get the history leading up to the battle, check out my post on the Glenfinnan Monument.

The Battle

After Prince Charles Edward Stuart, also known as Bonny Prince Charlie, raised the standard, took Edinburgh, won a few battles, etc., King George II's forces continued to pressure him. Charles and his troops retired northwards, losing men and failing to take Stirling Castle or Fort William, but investing Fort Augustus and Fort George in Inverness by early April. Charles now took charge again, insisting on fighting a defensive action.

UK - Scotland - ..., a photo by JulesFoto on Flickr.

The King's son, the Duke of Cumberland, and his army of around 8,000 arrived at Nairn on April 14. The Jacobite forces of about 5,400 left their base at Inverness, leaving most of their supplies, and assembled near Drummossie. The field of battle was open moorland which might have been useful for guerrilla-type fighting, but Charles insisted on executing the famous "Highland charge," despite the unsuitability of the ground. This could be a major reason for the slaughter that followed.

Early on April 16, the Government army marched from Nairn and Jacobite guns sounded the alarm. The weather was very poor, with a gale driving sleety rain into the faces of the exhausted Jacobites. The Prince's artillery, outnumbered some three to one, opened fire first, but due to a lack of trained gunners it had little impact. Over the next twenty minutes Cumberland's superior artillery continued to batter the Jacobite lines, while Charles, moved for safety out of sight of his own forces, waited for the government forces to move. Several clan leaders, angry at the lack of action, pressured Charles to issue the order to charge. When he was eventually persuaded to issue the order, the McDonalds refused, angry because they had been placed on the left flank overturning their traditional right to take the right flank. The Highlanders advanced on the left flank of the Government troops but were subjected to several volleys of musket fire and the artillery which had switched from roundshot to grapeshot.

Culloden Battlefield, originally uploaded by Mike Stirling.

Despite this, a large number of Jacobites did actually reach the Government lines. However, unlike in previous battles, their uncoordinated charge meant that the line arrived in patches; the charge was crushed against the Government lines. Despite this, the right flank of the Jacobites broke through the first line of Government troops and was only halted by Cumberland's second line of defense.

While the attack was still in progress, a small number of the Government forces had breached the park wall and the Campbell militia advanced unseen to fire at the right flank of the Jacobite lines. This added to all the other brutal gunfire, and threatened by cavalry the Jacobites were forced to retreat. The Duke ordered in his dragoons to rout the Jacobite forces, but the small contingent of elite Irish and other regular regiments covered the retreat as the Jacobites withdrew.

Outcome

In a total of about 60 minutes, the Duke was victorious, around 1,250 Jacobites died, a similar number were wounded, and 558 prisoners were taken. The end of battle saw 52 dead and 259 wounded among Cumberland's Government forces.

Memorial Cairn, Culloden Moor, originally uploaded by allanmaciver.

The  Battle of Culloden (April 16, 1746) was the last military clash ever to be fought on British soil. The entire Jacobite rebellion was actually quite small, but ended with disastrous consequences for the Scots. After Culloden the English tried to strip away Scottish cultural identity (it actually became illegal to wear tartan plaid), and effectively made Bonny Prince Charlie a national hero.

Sources:

New World Encyclopedia